Construction of two multi-story buildings on a block in Essex Junction was approved Thursday night, Jan. 4, 2018, paving the way for a transformation of Five Corners both championed and decried by neighbors.
RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS

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Meredith Connolly, a resident of Essex Junction, voices her concerns during a Planning Commission meeting over a proposal to build a four-story building a stone's throw from her house.
Photographed Jan. 4, 2018.(Photo: JOEL BANNER BAIRD/FREE PRESS)Buy Photo

Corrections and clarifications: An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of a neighbor to the project. The neighbor is Meredith Connolly.

ESSEX JUNCTION - Construction of two multi-story buildings on a block in Essex Junction was approved Thursday night, paving the way for a downtown transformation and drawing strong, mixed reviews from neighbors.

The projects will add a total of 71 one-bedroom units to Five Corners, tucked between the historic Park Street School, Vermont 2A and a cluster of single-family homes on Park Terrace and School Street.

Developers Gabriel Handy and Hinsdale Properties say groundbreaking on both projects will begin in March and proceed quickly from there.

But progress until now has been painful.

Planning Commissioner John Alden termed the abrupt shift in scale and style between the proposed taller buildings and adjacent homes a “fault line” that will likely take years, if not decades, to heal.

Losses and gains

Despite recent design changes that aim to reduce the buildings’ apparent size, and an increase in tree planting to screen them from neighbors, several residents at the meeting pronounced the commission's decision a disappointment.

“This has been a little hidden enclave for so long,” said Meredith Connolly, who lives on School Street.

The Planning Commission, prompted by residents’ concerns, has deliberated for months over the new buildings’ potential aesthetic impacts, as well as those of noise, traffic and parking.

Dense and compact development — the kind that promotes walking, public transit and other urban amenities — is officially sanctioned in the so-called Village Growth Center, said Chairman David Nistico.

A proposed apartment building for elderly housing in downtown Essex Junction is seen in this rendering by Lincoln Brown, provided to Village planners by developer Gabriel Handy in late December 2017.(Photo: Courtesy Village of Essex Junction/Lincoln Brown)

Both of the new housing proposals scrupulously follow local regulations, he added.

Handy’s project, which will house elderly tenants in a four-story, 43-unit building, will snug closer to other residences, and has drawn much more criticism.

Responding to comments from the public, Handy said he would shorten his project’s noisy construction period by prefabricating much of the structure off-site, and hauling it to the village for assembly.

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Developer Gabriel Handy, in red vest, participates Thursday night at a meeting of the Essex Junction Planning Commission.
Handy's proposal for a four-story, 43-unit apartment building in the village was unanimously approved.
Photographed Jan. 4, 2018.(Photo: JOEL BANNER BAIRD/FREE PRESS)

“I think my building is beautiful,” he said. “I think it fits in perfectly.”

Frank Naef, whose house sits on a half-acre just north of Handy’s parcel, disagreed and minced no words.

“It’s just a big box,” Naef said. “It doesn’t complement the neighborhood. You could add some character to that building and it would be no big deal.”

Competing visions

The function, if not the form, of Handy’s proposal impressed most members of the Planning Commission.

Several residents also spoke up in favor of the building.

One of them, John Reynolds, termed it “a tremendous, positive change” to the village.

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The century-old Park Street School is seen from Vermont 2A on Thursday in Essex Junction. The low commercial building on the right, as well as a more distant empty lot, have been approved for multi-story residential development.
Photographed Jan. 4, 2018.(Photo: JOEL BANNER BAIRD/FREE PRESS)

Another neighbor, Mary Lefcourt, said she is caring for her elderly parents in Jericho, and would welcome a convenient and affordable alternative (Handy has said he’ll charge $950 per month for a 700 square-foot single-bedroom apartment, including utilities).

An apartment building proposed for downtown Essex Junction, center, is seen from Vermont 2A in this rendering between the Park Street School, left, and a block representation of another apartment building proposed for the village.
Rendering by Lincoln Brown.(Photo: Courtesy Village of Essex Junction/Lincoln Brown)

Janet Wilson, in her mid-60s, countered that Handy’s project would eat into her retirement plans: “I’m a senior and my life savings is in my house.”

'Not until I die'

Hinsdale’s timeline calls for an early-2019 completion of the Park Street building.

Handy plans to complete his apartments in late August or early September of this year.

Furthermore, Handy said, he plans in about two years to demolish four buildings on an adjacent lot he owns, and construct another four-story building: 100 apartment units and ground floor commercial space.

That project will leave Frank and Judy Naef’s residence on Park Terrace boxed in to the south and east.

The couple has lived here for nearly 37 years, and neither are inclined to move.

“Maybe this part of the village is destined to be developed,” Frank said.

Would they sell?

“Not until I die,” Judy said.

The Naefs and like-minded neighbors left the Planning Commission downcast.

Handy, who attended the meeting, met briefly afterwards with Meredith Connolly in a hallway for a private talk.

The School Street resident whose single-story Cape will sit within a stone’s throw of Handy’s project, was still in tears.

The two exchanged phone numbers. Handy vowed to be a good neighbor.

Connolly remained unconvinced.

Contact Joel Banner Baird at 802-660-1843 or joelbaird@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @VTgoingUp.